Norwegian FA Unhappy With Nike Over Haaland’s Early 2026 World Cup Kit Reveal
Mar 23, 2026, by Phan Tich Giay
- Nike's Premature Kit Reveal: The Norwegian FA is frustrated with Nike for releasing the 2026 World Cup kits featuring Erling Haaland before the federation's planned launch date.
- Communication Breakdown: Nike did not inform the Norwegian FA about the Instagram teaser video, forcing them to rush their official kit release.
- Protecting Haaland: Despite the uncoordinated launch, the Norwegian FA Head of Brand Management clarified that Erling Haaland is not to blame for the situation.
A highly unusual and somewhat uncoordinated situation has unfolded surrounding the launch of Norway's new national team jerseys. According to a recent report by Flash Score, the Norwegian Football Association (NFA) has been left deeply frustrated with Nike after the sportswear giant prematurely revealed the 2026 World Cup kits, completely bypassing the federation's official release schedule.
Norwegian FA Unhappy With Nike Over Haaland’s Early 2026 World Cup Kit Reveal
The original plan was straightforward: the NFF intended to officially launch their new 2026 World Cup kits today, March 23, aligning perfectly with Nike's global release calendar.
However, on March 19 - four days ahead of schedule—Nike and superstar striker Erling Haaland suddenly dropped a teaser video on Instagram. While it may have been intended as a short promotional clip, both the new home and away shirts were clearly displayed at the end of the video.
The core issue is that neither the Norwegian Federation nor its key executives were informed about the plans for this Instagram post. The sudden reveal forced the NFF to scramble and prematurely launch the 2026 kits just to match the leaked teaser, leaving them completely unprepared.
Speaking to NRK, Jan Ove Nystuen, Head of Brand Management at the NFF, expressed his disappointment:
"Maybe they went out with the kit now because of the danger of things being leaked, I'm not sure. But now the cat is out of the bag. And the race we've been on has come to an end."
Instagram 'Firefighting'
A quick look at Nike's Instagram timeline reveals a distinctly disjointed release strategy.
The initial teaser video featuring Haaland only tagged the player himself, completely omitting any mention or tag for the Norwegian FA. In an apparent "firefighting" move to create a sense of seamlessness, Nike immediately followed up with an official kit release post, this time making sure to tag the national team account (@herrelandslaget).
This lack of cohesion and communication from Nike has been viewed as somewhat unprofessional, as they effectively went over the federation's head to publish the teaser.
No Blame on Haaland
Despite the chaotic launch making the federation look uncoordinated, Nystuen was quick to defend their star striker.
"This is classic. This makes us look very bad," admitted Nystuen. "But Erling (Braut Haaland) is not to blame for this at all. Here, others have broken the publishing cycle."
What are your thoughts on Nike's handling of this kit launch? Should brands have more freedom to reveal kits using their star athletes, or should they strictly respect the federation's schedule? Let us know in the comments below.
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